Alstom exec: Carbon pricing & technology innovation are symbiotic

Amy Ericson, U.S. country president for technology company Alstom, spoke at the World Bank Group about the interplay between carbon pricing and innovation that can lower carbon emissions for cleaner, more sustainable development. Alstom is involved in the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition.

"Alstom supports a price on carbon for several reasons, the most important of which is, as the world is agreeing, there is a cost to CO2. And that cost is not yet out there, and it needs to be paid.

We need to develop technology. We need to innovate technology for cleaner energy, cleaner transportation. That means large investments on our part and on our customers' parts. It is very difficult to plan for these long-term investments without having a price of CO2 factored in. So we believe that pricing out there will bring better certainty for us, better certainty for our customers.

It's important to note that carbon pricing will only be part of an overall solution. It has to happen in concert with policies, complementary policies, funding options, derisking instruments. So, it's only a piece of the puzzle, but we think it's a very important piece of the solution.

Right now I think what the private sector would ask government for is long-term targets, ambitious targets, a structure that would support a meaningful price for CO2. We would like for the government to get it right in terms of policies that lead us to the solution, and we would like to see them engage the private sector in the design of these policies.

If I could characterize broadly what it is that we are looking for and what our input would be is to make sure any policy or design is feasible, achievable, and allows for a portfolio of possible approaches and solutions.

I'd like to just add that we believe carbon pricing and technology innovation are symbiotic. They need each other to reach their full potential, and we are very pleased to be a part of the solution."